On Tuesday, the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) honored Viator House of Hospitality with its Community Change Award at its 27th annual Human Rights Awards.
Executive Director Fr. Corey Brost, CSV, attended the event in Chicago with past and present Viator House staff and accepted the award on behalf of the Viator House community. The award was presented by a former Viator House participant who reflected on his multi-continent journey to the US, including becoming one of the first Viator House participants back in early 2017 upon turning 18.
The VHH table at the event was (left to right) Sr. Maureen Jerkowski, Sr. Rayo Cuaya-Castillo, Fr. Corey, Pre-Associate Leslie Bottcher, Bart Hisgen, Marianne Dilsner, Fr. Mike Shanahan, and (not in photo) Ben Gray.
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“When I moved to Viator House, everything changed. I had a home; I could go to school; I had wonderful volunteers who helped me with my homework,” he said. “At that time, I couldn’t speak much English, but I went on to graduate high school, and I attended community college. I worked with my legal team at NIJC to prepare my asylum case.”
He is just one example of how the wrap-around support system brings hope, healing, and opportunity. “In 2021, I finally saw an immigration judge that granted me my asylum. I felt hopeful because I finally knew I could stay here. I got my green card,” he said, to applause. “Thank you, NIJC. Thank you, Viator House. Now I work as a truck driver, and I have a safe place to live. I pay my taxes! This country has a lot of opportunities, and I’m grateful to be here.”
Fr. Corey followed with a brief acceptance address, thanking NIJC for being an early and long-running partner and thanking the small but mighty Viator House staff and bevy of generous volunteers. “Looking back nine-and-a-half years and 129 participants ago, Br. Michael and I walked into an empty but furnished dorm-style building with five young men from five different countries who had all escaped violence to come here. I didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into, the challenges and gifts that would follow,” Fr. Corey said. “On January 17, 2017, we took off in a plane that we had just started to build, but we did it with confidence because of partnerships, such as this one with NIJC.”
Fr. Corey accepts the award for the Viator House community.
Fr. Corey also celebrated Viator House’s 107 former participants (many of whom come back to visit), 30 high school diplomas and GED certificates, 45 family reunifications, and 25 successful immigration court proceedings – while noting the many who are still waiting their day in court. “We are so much richer as a nation – and I am as a person – because of these young men,” Fr. Corey said. “It is a dark time in the nation for our migrant sisters and brothers, but candles burn brightest in the dark and NIJC is such a candle.”
In its citation recognizing Viator House, NIJC stated it “deeply appreciates Viator House’s partnership and dedication to the human rights and dignity of young immigrants.” NIJC affirms Viator House’s “compassionate services and supportive living environment” and celebrates how these participants get “the chance to build their lives and skills as well as focus on their immigration cases.”
NIJC is a national immigrant rights organization headquartered in Chicago. Its mission is to establish and defend the legal rights of immigrants regardless of background and transform the immigration system to one that affords equal opportunity for all. The organization sustains a network of over 2,500 pro bono lawyers who serve about 10,000 people per year.